Two hundred and fifty years after Alessandro Volta discovered methane in the marshes of Angera, the science is now clear: action on methane represents one of the best opportunities to slow global warming. Methane is the second most significant contributor to warming, after carbon dioxide. Methane is responsible for 30% of current warming and its atmospheric concentration continues to rise. Absent rapid and sustained reductions, methane emissions will drive faster warming in the coming decades, intensifying climate risks such as more frequent and severe droughts and heatwaves; more rapid ice-sheet loss; sea-level rise; and risks of triggering destabilizing climate tipping points.
Reducing methane emissions not only reduces climate risks, it also almost immediately improves air quality by decreasing ground-level ozone, which improves public health by reducing respiratory illness and premature mortality while preventing crop losses from ozone exposure thus strengthening food security. In recent years, meaningful progress has been made on methane action. We commend the efforts of high-ambition nations, organisations, coalitions, donors, and businesses that have advanced methane mitigation. Initiatives such as the Global Methane Pledge—launched in 2021 and now endorsed by 159 countries and the European Commission—have helped catalyse this momentum by setting a goal of reducing global anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. The 2025 Global Methane Status Report shows that while these efforts are slowing the growth of methane emissions, atmospheric concentrations continue to rise. Even greater ambition is needed to match the urgency of the challenge and the scale of the opportunity.
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